The Aragorn Files: Mystery in Lothlorien
by Nienna1
Summary: **CHAPTER TWO!** When Frodo is mysteriously injured in Caras Galadhon, Aragorn will stop at nothing to find out who committed such a terrible crime...
1. Prologue

Author's Notes: This story has been bouncing around in my head for some time now. I'd like to thank my muse, Dwayne, fan fiction author Kitti, who was kind enough to read over my little tale, and of course the Academy! Thank you all! I love you! *cheers*

Disclaimer: You've heard before. I don't own it. STOP ACCUSING ME!

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The Aragorn Files: Mystery in Lothlorien

Prologue

It seemed like a quite and peaceful night in quiet and peaceful Lothlorien. The far-off song of a nightingale could be heard throughout the Golden Wood. All seemed well, but years of wandering in the Wild as a Ranger has taught me that things aren't always what they seem.

The remaining members of the Fellowship, including me, arrived at Caras Galadhon last evening, the 17th of January, 3019, the Third Age of this world. It is the second night of our arrival now, and even though I need not tell you the date, it is the 18th of January, 3019, the Third Age of this world. Even though I should be resting my weary body in the peacefulness of this place, I cannot. I do not know why.

I don't think any of our Company slept last night. Perhaps in was the haunting images of our dear departed guide Gandalf falling into the abyss, perhaps it was the fact that Galadriel successfully crept us all out, I do not know. Hopefully they will sleep in peace tonight, for they shall need their rest when we continue out.

Perhaps that is what keeps me up all night. Is it the fact that I do not what to do after we leave fair Lothlorien? Maybe. Because I most certainly do not. Boromir, of course, wishes to go to Minas Tirith and assault Sauron. I think that, maybe, my path should lead me there too, so I can aid the Men of the White City in the coming war. Surely The Sword That Was Broken would be of great assistance to them. Yet I know in my heart Frodo will not desire to tread that path. I swore to protect Frodo, and protect him I will. I will follow him into the very heart of Mordor, should that be the case. But what about the others? Will they follow?

Even as I ponder these questions, I realize that is not what keeps me awake. It is the knowledge that something is amiss. Something is going to go wrong. But what?

"Aragorn?" I hear a voice behind me. I turn to see Legolas looking at me curiously.

"Yes, Legolas?"

"You should take some rest," he said quietly. "You look weary."

I sighed. "I am weary, Legolas, yet I can take no rest."

"What troubles you?" he asked, coming up beside me.

"I do not know exactly, yet I can tell something is, or will go, wrong." Legolas looked at me strangely. "I know, you think I'm crazy," I said. "Yet I cannot ignore this feeling."

"On the contrary, my friend," said Legolas. "I was just remembering the words of Gandalf: _'If you bring a Ranger with you, it is well to pay attention to him, especially if the Ranger is Aragorn.' _Maybe we should go see if everything is well with the rest of the Company."

"No, Legolas, I think it would be best if we both went to sleep now," I murmured. "You are right, I am very weary." With that I lay down and fell asleep almost immediately.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Fudge monkeys. I should have known that the moment I fell asleep something bad would happen. I lay still for a few minutes, hoping that I would realize it is all a dream…

"Aragorn! Come quick!" Legolas shook me violently. "You must get up! Frodo has been injured!"

Double fudge monkeys. The Ringbearer is injured and it's not just a dream.

This is going to be a long night.

***************

"I do not know exactly what happened," said Legolas as the two of us walked briskly up the many stairs to Galadriel's bedroom. "I was talking to Haldir, and then we heard a scream coming from behind us. We turned around and ran to see where the cry had come from, and we found Frodo lying on the ground. It appears he was shot with a bow an arrow of some sort, but I didn't get to observe closely. Haldir told me to get you and meet him in Galadriel's bedroom. Let us hope that there is something she can do for him."

"Let us hope," I said.

We reached the top of the long spiraling staircase and walked down a small corridor to Galadriel's room. I pushed open the golden door.

Galadriel was leaning over the bed, looking at who I assumed to be Frodo. The other three hobbits were crowded around her, asking her what happened and if their friend was going to be alright. Haldir was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, his face in his hands. Celeborn was pacing back and forth, muttering under his breath. Gimli and Boromir were crowded around the other side of the bed, gazing down at Frodo. An Elven guard whom I had not seen before was standing by the doorway.

I pushed aside Gimli and Boromir and looked down at the injured hobbit. Galadriel had cleaned and bound the wound in his stomach. The soft white linen that she had wrapped around him was now a deep red. Frodo seemed unconscious.

"What happened to him?" I asked Galadriel breathlessly.

"He was shot with an arrow," she replied softly. "Haldir brought him up here. I was just cleaning the wound when Frodo said something about 'cheese' and fainted."

"Will he be alright?" I asked frantically.

"Oh, yes, he will be fine," Galadriel assured me, "though it may take some time. The wound was not very deep."

"How was he shot?" I asked.

"Obviously by accident," said Haldir. "None of the Lothlorien Elves would do such a terrible deed."

"He's right," said Galadriel. "It had to be an accident. Do you wish to stay with him tonight, Aragorn?"

"No, I think it would be best if I tried to get some sleep," I said quietly, then yawned. "I'll see him tomorrow. Where shall he be relocated to?"

"I shall take him to Lady Eruanna," Galadriel replied. "Haldir knows where she dwells and will take you there in the morning."

"Alright," I said. I looked down at Frodo. "Get better soon, Frodo, you've got a quest to complete," I murmured, then walked at of the room.

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"Aragorn! Wait up!" I turned around to see Legolas running down the spiral staircase behind me. I stopped and waited for him. When he caught up with me, he asked "Do you think it was an accident, Aragorn?"

"Yes, I do," I said, "for, like Haldir said, none of the Lothlorien Elves would do such a thing, and it was not an Orcish arrow that pierced Frodo."

"Yes, but it was not an arrow that was shot either," said Legolas.

"I do not understand," I said slowly. "What do you mean?"

"The bows of the Galadhrim have great force," responded Legolas. "An arrow shot by one of those bows would have pierced Frodo much deeper."

"Maybe it was not a bow of the Galadhrim that was used," I said. "Maybe it was a bow like yours."

"Maybe, but unlikely," said Legolas. "My bow can pierce flesh harder than that, at least when shot by me. Besides, who here in Caras Galadhon owns a bow made by the Elves of Mirkwood?

"Nay, Aragorn, this bow was not shot by any bow here. Frodo was stabbed by the arrow, and I do not think you can unintentionally stab someone."

"Legolas, I am not so concerned about how Frodo was hurt. I am more concerned about Frodo."

"You heard Galadriel! Frodo will be fine."

"Yes, she did say that," I replied. "But that is still not the point. The point is, I was supposed to lead this Company on. Don't you remember? In the Mines of Moria? Gandalf said to me 'Lead them on, Aragorn.' And I did you on, here, where Frodo is shot and injured! What a leader I make."

"Aragorn, it was not your fault!" said Legolas, coming to an abrupt stop. "You could have done nothing to prevent it. Accidents happen!"

"Yet you were just here telling me it was not an accident," I said heavily. "I promise you, Legolas, I will find out who did this to Frodo before they can do it to the rest of the Fellowship."

"I will help you, Aragorn," he said.

"Good." I glanced behind me, back towards the long spiral staircase and Galadriel's room. "You hear that Frodo?" I called. "I'm not going to rest until I find out the truth!"

"You don't mean that, do you Aragorn?" asked Legolas worriedly. "Because you look awfully tired…"

"Of course I don't mean it, Legolas," I sighed. "It's a figure of speech. Now let's go get some rest, and tomorrow we'll go talk to Lady Eruanna."

"Alright."

***************

So there we were, a Man and an Elf, determined to find the story behind the story. It's just another case for….THE ARAGORN FILES.

(detective music plays)

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Author's Notes: Riiiiiiight. That last part is from me being incredibly sick yesterday. I had nothing to do but watch these old detective movies…anyway, since I am boring and unoriginal and don't feel like creating Elves to live in Lothlorien and be suspects, I'd like YOU, the reader, to be a Lothlorien elf. All you gotta do I write me a little note via review/e-mail telling me your name/personality/whatever and I will put you in the story! The more suspects, the more mysterious it is, and mysterious story equals good story!

Nienna

(dancingkitty207@aol.com)


	2. In the House of Eruanna, Part 1

Author's Notes: I can't even begin to explain why this chapter is so delayed…so to make a long story short I'll say bad computer, holiday season, schoolwork, school musical, out-of-town visitors, and a history project. (Though I must say, my model of the Coliseum is very impressive, and though I may only be a dancer in our production of 'Oklahoma!' I'm the best darn dancer there! [note: not true. Blatant self-promotion])

THIS CHAPTER'S APPEARANCES: The shy **Dimanna** (created by Coriandra), the mysterious **Aloria **(created by AloriaMoonbeam:TheLastFae), and the scholarly **Cestra Starlight** (created by phoenixqueen)

Characters will most likely be used in multiple chapters, and if your characters wasn't in this chapter they will most likely be in the next. And they will probably be in the next even if they were in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, silly willy! I just obsess over them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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The Aragorn Files: Mystery in Lothlorien

Chapter One: In the House of Eruanna, Part 1

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_The house of Eruanna was unlike any other house Aragorn had seen in wondrous Lothlorien. Instead of an enormous house in the very tops of the highest mallorns, Lady Eruanna had a small hut on the ground in a secluded clearing in the woods. This shocked him a bit, but he was okay with it, because a house on the ground meant he didn't have to climb 5,000 steps while trying not to look down._

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The morning after Frodo's attack, I arose and immediately woke Legolas. Did I mention I arose quite early? I had too, you see, because I learned from experience a long time ago that no matter what they say, Elves are NOT morning people. You have to plan on a least a half an hour to get them out of bed, and that's on a good day. And then they spend ages on that hair! Well, I guess when you're immortal time spent getting up and doing your hair doesn't matter. But you think they could speed it up a little when PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE AT STAKE!

Ahem. Sorry about that.

Lucky for me, Legolas understood that we should go with all possible haste to the house of Lady Eruanna, and he only spent forty-five minutes getting up and only half an hour on his hair, though I had to bribe him with cheese danishes to get him to move that quickly. And then I had to deal with Celeborn, but let's **not** get into that. I'll just say this: do not, ever, under any circumstances, take a cheese danish from a tired and rather grumpy Elf lord. Anyway…

"Aragorn, do you even know where Lady Eruanna is?" asked Legolas in a slightly whiny tone of voice. The two of us were walking deeper into the woods of Lothlorien without any idea exactly where we were supposed to be going.

"No!" I said. "But Haldir does, remember?"

"And do you know where Haldir is?"

I paused. "Uh…"

Legolas sighed. "This is going to be a long day, isn't it? I can tell already…"

"You know, he was probably already waiting for us but since you took so long on your darn hair, he probably thought we forgot about him," I said.

"Sure, blame it on the Elf. At least I care about my hair, unlike *some* people."

"You know, you don't have to help me save Frodo…"

"You talk like it is a privilege to be working with you!"

"It is!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not-"

"ENOUGH!" a loud voice screamed. "I can't take this foolish bickering anymore!"

Legolas and I turned toward the directions of the voice. "Haldir!" I cried. I ran over to him, Legolas at my heels. "Finally! What took so long?"

"I had to do my hair," said Haldir, as if this were obvious. Legolas looked at me with an annoying smirk on his face.

"Whatever," I said. "Let's go."

Haldir led us swiftly to the house of Lady Eruanna, a small hut on the ground. "That's it?" asked Legolas. "That's where the greatest healer in all of Lothlorien lives?"

"Do not be deceived," said Haldir. "Her dwelling is in sharp contrast to her powers of healing. She is quite skilled in all areas of medicine and healing. I am sure you will be impressed."

"We'll see," murmured Legolas. "We'll see…"

Haldir bade us farewell and said he would return at lunchtime. Then Legolas and I walked cautiously towards the small hut… (okay, go with me here, I'm trying my hardest to make this sound thrilling, mysterious, etc.) I knocked on the door and…

…

…

…

No one answered. I knocked again and…

…

…

…

"May I help you, sirs?" said voice behind the door.

"Yes, I am Aragorn, and I have come to see Mister Frodo Baggins," I responded. "I was told he would be in the keeping of the Lady Eruanna…"

"Oh! You are Aragorn!" cried the girl, and flung the door open. "I am Cestra, one of Eruanna's assistants. Come in, come in!" She flattened herself against the frame of the door and Legolas and I went in. She followed behind us and shut the door. "Have a seat! You must be tired, it's quite early, isn't it? I'll brew up some tea…" She bustled around the room, which seemed to be part kitchen part sitting room. Legolas and I settled ourselves in stiff green armchairs. It was quite dark inside the hut, and there was no sign of Frodo.

"Excuse me, Lady," said Legolas as Cestra handed him a cup of steaming tea, "This is quite kind of you, but Aragorn and I need to see Frodo and Eruanna as soon as possible. Could you kindly tell us where she is?"

Cestra settled into a green armchair across from us. "I'm afraid that's not possible," she said simply.

"Why not?" I asked. "We need to talk to her!"

"Oh, yes, you can *talk* to her," said Cestra. "But it's quite impossible for you to *see* her."

"Why?" I asked, outraged.

"The Lady does not let anyone see her," said someone sitting in the corner. Legolas and I hadn't even noticed her. "Not even her assistants are allowed to see her."

"Why not?" I asked again. "And who are you?"

"In response to your second question, I am Aloria Moonbeam, another assistant of Lady Eruanna. And in response to your first question, I don't think visitors to this land and to this house should be so nosy."

Ouch. "You'd be nosy too if one of your friends was in the keeping of…of…the invisible Elf maiden!" I responded.

I expected her to backtalk, but instead she just shook her head, picked up a red velvet covered book , and continued to read.

"Alright, so we can't see Eruanna," I said. "May we at least be permitted to see Frodo? We're quite concerned about him."

"I'll ask," said Cestra, and she disappeared behind a curtain in the back of the room. After a few minutes she returned. "You are permitted to speak with Mister Baggins," she said.

"Good." Legolas and I got up and Cestra held the curtain open for us. We walked slowly into a room that was even darker than the one we had just left.

"I can't see anything!" I cried, now beginning to really get frustrated. "Where's Frodo?"

"He's over here," said Legolas. I slowly began to walk towards the sound of his voice. "You're almost here…keep going…"

Suddenly I felt someone grab my arm. I screamed. "Who's there?" I asked.

"My name is Dimanna," said a female voice. "I'm an assistant of Lady Eruanna."

"Another one?" I murmured. "How many of you are there?"

"Only three," she answered. "Aloria, Cestra, and myself. I'm sorry if I startled you, sir, but you were about to walk into a table."

"Legolas! Why didn't you tell me there was a table there?"

"I, uh, I didn't see it…"

I heard Dimanna laugh. "It is quite dark in here, isn't it?" she said. "I'll open the curtains." As the light poured into the room, I saw Frodo lying on a bed, terribly pale. Legolas was standing next to him. Dimanna stood next to an open window. She was…stunning. Certainly not as beautiful or stunning as my Arwen, but still quite fair. She had golden hair that reminded me of Galadriel's and deep blue eye's that reminded me of Legolas's but NOT IN THAT WAY!

"How's Frodo doing?" I asked.

"Oh, he's doing good- as good as be can be expected," said Dimanna with a smile. "I'm sure he'll recover quickly."

"It is true that Hobbits are made of stern stuff," I said. "Remember in Moria, Legolas? Remember the spear?"

"Yes, of course, I remember," said Legolas. "And even though Hobbits are rather strong- or at least Frodo is- he wouldn't have survived that attack were it not for the Mithril-"

The word caught in his throat.

"The Mithril shirt," I whispered quietly. I looked at Legolas, and I could tell that we were both thinking the exact same thing.

*~*~*~*

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to shirebound, who is so sharp she can detect even the smallest of plotholes I was hoping no one would notice.


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